Mr. David Schellenberg

Mr. David Schellenberg is a seasoned business leader with a strong track record of creating sustainable and profitable business growth. Trained as a Chartered Accountant, he completed his MBA at the University of Western Ontario before embarking on a career that saw him gain significant operating and financial leadership experience covering a wide variety of businesses and industries. He is known for developing and managing top talent, creating significant business development wins, completing acquisitions and working through the challenges of multiple start-ups. Currently serving as a Managing Director of Highland West Capital, David and his partners offer a broad array of capital alternatives (including traditional debt and equity structures) as well as strategic, operational and financial support to its management partners.

Prior to Highland West, he was CEO of Conair Group Inc. & Cascade Aerospace Inc., specialty aviation and aerospace businesses that he and his management team grew into world leaders within their respective industries. In 2012, he was honored with a CEO of the Year award by Business in Vancouver. Before his success in the aviation and aerospace industries, David worked as a Managing Director within the Jim Pattison Group corporate office, gaining valuable experience in a wide range of business functions and was heavily involved in the support and oversight of the 50+ Jim Pattison Group member companies. He is also affiliated and involved in various foundations and organizations in the community, while retaining a long-term membership in the Young Presidents’ / World President's Organization.

Dr. Sandra Dunn

Dr. Sandra Dunn is an internationally recognized and respected cancer researcher with more than 80 peer-reviewed, frequently cited publications. The majority of her research over the past 20 years discusses the identification and validation of novel strategies for the treatment of cancer, with a focus on identifying novel methods of diagnosing and treating cancers that primarily affect women and children. Between 2001 and 2015, she led a highly successful cancer research program in the Faculty of Medicine, Experimental Medicine Program at the University of British Columbia. During her time at UBC, Dr. Dunn mentored over 70 students and developed five provisional patents relating to the development of new therapies aimed at reducing drug resistance in cancer treatment. Two of the patents were registered internationally.

Sandra obtained her BA from Hiram College, a leading private school in the United States. She then spent five years in industry and government as an analytical chemist before pursing an MSc and Ph.D. in applied toxicology and biotechnology at North Carolina State University. After obtaining her Ph.D., she trained as a postdoctoral fellow for five years at the National Institutes of Health in the Research Triangle Park in North Carolina. Find her on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/phoenixmd

Dr. Nicholas Sharp

Dr. Nicholas Sharp is an entrepreneur, scientist and clinician, and currently a veterinary neurologist and owner of Canada West Veterinary Specialists. His company is a pioneering veterinary hospital that specializes in the provision of multi-disciplinary veterinary specialist and critical care. Since joining Canada West Veterinary Specialists in 2001, he has helped to build the organization into a nationally recognized, multi-million dollar company. Canada West is a privately-held business and the only one of its kind in Western Canada. It offers state-of-the art patient care and employs more than 100 specialists, technicians and staff.

Nicholas received his Ph.D. from Duke University in Molecular and Cellular Biology and is double boarded in surgery and neurology. After obtaining his Ph.D., he became a tenured professor at the North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine.

Ms. Janet Grove

Ms. Janet Grove is a partner and corporate lawyer at Bull Housser & Tupper LLP in their Corporate Commercial, Technology and Health Care Groups. She has earned recognition by Best Lawyers in Canada as a leading lawyer in the areas of Biotechnology Law and Corporate Law and is currently on the board of Zucara Therapeutics Inc., an emerging life sciences company. In 2000, Janet joined the legal team at QLT Inc., an internationally recognized and commercially successful Vancouver company listed on the TSX and NASDAQ, where she was a member of the company’s executive management team and held a number of roles including the position of Vice-President and Corporate Counsel, Corporate Secretary and Business Ethics Officer. She returned to private practice in 2008 where she has continued to help clients with her wide ranging experience in the biotechnology and technology sectors.

During her years at QLT, Janet was also Senior Director of Corporate Development and involved in sourcing and negotiating acquisition and licensing transactions. She has also previously served for a number of years on the board and as Chairperson of the Vancouver Branch of St. John Ambulance. Janet obtained a B.Sc. in Biochemistry from the University of Victoria, prior to receiving her credentials in law in 1993.

Dr. Lana Janes

Dr. Lana Janes is Vice President, Intellectual Property and Technology Development, and Chief Patent Officer at QLT Inc., a Vancouver-based pharmaceutical company. She joined the company in 2005 and since 2007 has overseen all aspects of intellectual property for the company and its various subsidiaries, including strategic management of the patent portfolios for the FDA-approved products Visudyne®, Aczone® and Eligard®, as well as numerous preclinical and clinical stage pharmaceutical products and medical devices. More recently, Lana has assumed an R&D leadership role at QLT and oversees all aspects of Research and Development for QLT's late stage, orphan drug programs. With over 15 years of experience in the intellectual property and drug development fields, she has a broad and in-depth understanding of both the IP and business aspects of the pharmaceutical industry.

Lana is also a registered patent agent in Canada and the Unites States. Prior to joining QLT in 2005, she was a patent agent in the Toronto offices Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP and Ogilvy Renault LLP (now Norton Rose Fulbright), where her practice focused on patent prosecution, litigation and transactional work in the fields of pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and chemistry. Lana also worked as an in-house patent agent at F. Hoffmann-La Roche in Basel, Switzerland in 2003-2004, where her practice was focused on patent prosecution and in-licensing of technologies. Prior to law, she obtained her BA in Chemistry from Harvard University and completed her PhD (with honours) and postdoctoral work in organic chemistry at McGill University.

Dr. Julia Levy

Founder and Director Emerita, QLT Inc.

Dr. Julia Levy is the founder and director emerita of QLT Inc.. Under her leadership, QLT recorded the strongest period of growth in company history and earned a reputation for achieving milestones, including FDA approval for Visudyne® therapy to treat age-related blindness in April 2000. She served in several key senior posts at QLT including Director since 1983, Chief Scientific Officer and Vice President as well as President and CEO from 1995 to February 2002. In December 2006, Dr. Levy retired from the Board of Directors and became a Director Emerita. She was actively involved in QLT's Scientific Advisory Board until January 2008 when she retired from QLT entirely.

Following her doctorate degree in immunology from the University of London, Dr. Levy was awarded an Industrial Professorship in the Department of Microbiology from the University of British Columbia and is the recipient of several honorary degrees. A fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and former President of the Canadian Federation of Biological Sciences, Dr. Levy has earned numerous awards and honors including an appointment as an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2001, the Female Entrepreneur of the Year for International Business in 1998, Pacific Canada Entrepreneur of the Year in 2000 and the Future of Vision Award from the Foundation Fighting Blindness in 2001. In 2002 she received, along with Dr. David Dolphin, the Friesen-Rygiel prize for medical research and the Prix Galien Canada research award. Along with Dr. Gustav Huber of Novartis, she was presented with the 2003 Helen Keller Prize for Innovation in Eye Care. In her honor, the Julia G. Levy Professorship in Ophthalmology Chair was created at Johns Hopkins Hospital Wilmer Eye Institute in 2004, the same year she was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the British Columbia Biotechnology Association.

The author of many published scientific articles and a sought-after speaker, Dr. Levy currently serves as a director on a number of early-stage biotechnology company boards and on the board of the Working Opportunity Fund, a British Columbia, Canada-based venture capital firm.